Hand Eczema, Risk Factors and Microbial Skin Contamination in the Norwegian Waste Sorting Industry: A Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Occupational dermatology
• Environmental health
• Microbiology

Background:

• Hand eczema (HE) and skin barrier function in waste workers are understudied.
• Assessing skin microbial contamination in this occupational group is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence and risk factors of hand eczema among waste sorting workers.
• To evaluate transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin microbial contamination in this group.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 69 waste sorting workers and 25 office personnel.
• Utilized the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire-2002, Tewameter for TEWL measurements, and microbial skin sampling.
• Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Hand eczema prevalence was 25% in waste workers and 40% in office personnel, with significantly lower prevalence in exposed workers (p=0.012).
• TEWL and fungal levels were similar between groups. Atopic dermatitis and nicotine use were significant HE predictors.
• Recent hand eczema correlated with higher bacterial concentrations (p=0.05).

Conclusions:

• Waste workers exhibited a lower hand eczema prevalence than office workers, suggesting a potential healthy worker effect.
• The study highlights the need for further investigation into the role of bacterial contamination in hand eczema occurrence.
• Findings indicate that occupational factors and individual predispositions influence hand eczema in waste sorting workers.